Jets' Aaron Glenn shares his opinion on player comparison with D'Angelo Ponds

Before his coaching career which began in 2014, Jets head coach Aaron Glenn spent 15 seasons in the NFL as a cornerback with eight of those seasons coming in New York.

In fact, Glenn was such a standout cornerback in college, the Jets drafted him No. 12 overall in the 1994 NFL Draft and were rewarded as Glenn made good on that selection.

Glenn played in 121 games and totaled 24 interceptions (three returned for touchdowns), six forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. In his eight seasons in New York, Glenn, standing at just 5-foot-9, was a two-time Pro Bowler.

After retiring following a brilliant career, Glenn moved on to coaching but his ability and toughness on the field hasn’t been forgotten. It’s actually the attitude he brings as a head coach now and before as a defensive coordinator.

Now, 25 years after Glenn’s final season with the Jets, a new player has arrived with a very similar skillset.

D’Angelo Ponds, a second-round pick out of Indiana in the 2026 NFL Draft, has drawn comparisons to Glenn since even before the draft due to his play-making, resilience and size.

Listed at 5-foot-9 just like Glenn, Ponds has had to deal with being labeled undersized his entire career. Nevertheless, he’s persevered and became one of the top cornerbacks in the draft, helping the Hoosiers complete an undefeated season and win their first-ever national championship.

“I’ve been proving people wrong my whole life,” Ponds said during Jets minicamp on Friday. ‘I embrace it, but at this point I feel like I’m just proving myself right and in that process I’m proving them wrong because they didn’t expect me to do it. I’m just dedicated to the process.”

Someone who did believe in Ponds was Glenn, perhaps because he, too, saw some of himself in the 21-year-old. The head coach was asked what he thinks about the comparison between him and Ponds.

“I think I would describe myself as someone that really wanted to be the best there is in what they do… How do you lead the team from an action standpoint and from a verbal standpoint and [Ponds] has all those attributes,” Glenn said. “And listen I’m not throwing all of that on him right now, but you clearly see those are some of the things that he has and it’s just a part of who he is.”